Lela
by Crymson Onyx
Summary: Firstborn daughter of Char and Ella, Lela was cursed just like her mother, but with a different "gift". DISCLAIMER: Ella Enchanted is not mine (sadly), nothing belongs to me except my OC.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is the first time I'm writing something like this. I basically did most of my writings on points of view from people in different things from already-existent scenes. So I have no idea how this will turn out, if I keep going. Just a heads up! Anyway, _ciao! _ **

I had always wanted a normal life, a normal childhood. But unfortunately, I never got one. Because I was cursed. Like my mother once was.

She told me that when she was born, a foolish fairy named Lucinda had given her a gift of obedience. She was to do anything commanded of her. She called it a curse, because if someone had wanted her to chop off her own head, she would have to do it. Finally, when she was a teenager, she broke the curse to save her love and her home, teaching Lucinda to be good in the process.

But when I was born, I too was given a curse.

Mother and father were inside the castle that day, as it had been raining since the morning. My mother was reading in their bedroom, and my father was managing the papers that piled daily on his desk.

At around noon, father heard mother scream for him. Frightened at what might happen, he dropped what he was doing and dashed for the room. When he got there, she was on the edge of a chair, holding her stomach. Her book had fallen out of her hands onto the floor.

"Char," She looked up at him. "Char, I think I'm giving birth!"

Her eyes had been full of excitement, fear, and most of all, relief. I was past my due date, and they had begun to get worried that something was wrong with me.

He rushed her to the royal doctor, who immediately went to work, while Mandy – the cook who had been friends with my family on my mother's side for years – pushed father into the other room.

It took hours, but I was born at exactly midnight.

And it was still raining.

"Let's call her Lela," Mother had suggested to Mandy. "I think it would be fitting."

Mandy thought it a wonderful name, and so did father when he saw me. It was the name mother used when disguised at the masked balls grandfather threw for father three nights in a row. She wanted to see father one last time, so she came up with the name so neither he nor her cruel step family would know who she was.

And the end of her curse started at midnight, so they hoped it was a good thing. But of course it wasn't.

An hour after my birth, everyone wanted sleep. Father carried mother himself to their bedchambers, and Mandy carried me there, placing me in a crib.

Everything was normal, or so my parents thought.

I remember the memory perfectly. I even remember what I was wearing; a beautiful pink dress with white lace.

Anyway, when I was three, I had been playing in the garden with mother. At some point I accidentally fell off a stone bench, scraping my hands and elbow. I started crying, but as mother picked me up and started to sooth me, grey clouds suddenly rolled over the sky, and thunder boomed. My first tear brought down a torrent of rain, drenching us both in seconds.

We ran inside, and I was fascinated. I had never seen such heavy weather before. But as soon as I stopped crying, the rain stopped, the clouds disappeared, and the sun was as bright as ever, the only sign of rain being the wet ground.

At first, mother thought it was just a coincidence, that it had been a minute shower. But every single time I became sad after that, the weather reacted. It was soon decided that I was cursed.

No one had any idea how it happened – and no one had seen anything – although if a fairy had done this, they could have easily sneaked in and out.

At first, no one made a big deal out of it. Mother was upset due to her history with curses, but she tried to make the best out of it, not wanting me to have to go on any dangerous quest like she did to stop it. Especially since no one even knew who did it.

So again, for a while everything was normal. I tried to control my emotion as I grew older. And all that was asked of the kingdom was that sudden weather change was okay. But even that turned out bad. Because the older I became, the worse it got. The weather started to be affected from other emotions too, and a little rain from sadness turned to full blown storms from sorrow. By the time I turned seventeen, the weather reacted to every little bit of emotion in the worst possible way.

Everyone was constantly burdened by carrying around protection from rain, snow, and wind. And a lot of them hated me for it. Even people in the castle would glare at me or say things about me when they thought I wasn't looking.

And I wasn't any less miserable. Sometimes we would go weeks without sunshine, which only darkened my mood further. Only my parents – and Mandy – could cheer me up. And even all of my friends deserted me.

But the three people who I knew cared most about me couldn't be with me all the time. Mandy had to cook, father had to rule the kingdom, and mother needed to help him.

But, there was one thing that was always constant, always there: Hope. That one day, I could find a solution.

One day, I was determined to be free.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait, and that this chapter is so long! When I wrote the first chapter, I really had no idea what to do with the plot, but now I know, so yay! Anywho, thanks for the reviews so far! _Hola!_**

**Chapter Two**

There was, however, a limit to all the madness. There was one way where, no matter how sad or angry or afraid I became, the weather wouldn't be affected. That way was water. Lakes, oceans, even a pool or pond, would be safe. I could let out all my emotions as much as I wanted. Although I still felt it, I was even resistant to any temperature wherever I was.

I didn't know why or how, but I never questioned it, I was just happy to have some respite from it all.

And because of it, I became an excellent swimmer, and could hold my breath forever. It was my sole pleasure, besides Mandy, father, and mother.

One day after a particularly harsh storm caused by some harsh words I overheard from some new servants who hadn't learned where all the hidden tunnels were yet, I ran outside to swim in one of the many ponds in the royal gardens, so I could be alone without the weather changing every five seconds.

It was winter and I had on light clothes for more maneuverability, but as I said before, temperatures of any kind didn't bother me, so I swam and swam, eventually forgetting my anger and troubles.

After a while, I thought I saw someone out of the corner of my eye, standing near a tree that grew just next to the pond. But when I turned to look, no one was there. Shrugging it off as water distorting my vision, I decided I had had enough for one day. I prepared myself to get out, for the instant I did, it's like an invisible wall holding back the connection from my emotions to the weather would shatter, leaving it open to whatever I was feeling. Staying as calm as I could, I went inside, grabbed a towel, and ascended the stairs to my room. When I reached the top, I suddenly had the mad urge to slide down the railing. Checking to make sure no servants were around, I flew down the long golden colored wood, laughing all the way.

It had been a long time since I had slid down the railings, so immediately after I hit the ground I raced back up, only to fly back down again. By the time I went down a fourth time, my cheeks were bright red and I was laughing so hard the sun started shining so brightly that the temperature actually rose.

Mother had been outside at the time so she noticed the change and came to see what I was doing.

When she saw me, she too started to laugh and raced down the railings with me, and ten minutes later we were on the ground, laughing too hard to get up again.

When we finally stopped enough, mother looked at me and smiled. "I'm so happy to hear your laugh, dear. That's the first time in months."

"I get it from you mother." I told her, smiling and motioning to the railings. They always made me happy.

"I love you." She said, drawing me into a hug. She smelled like summer, with her green dress that made her look lovely, although she always said she looked like a grasshopper in that color.

"I love you too." I told her.

She stood up; dusting us both off, then went back outside for her daily walk in the gardens.

I hoped that I could stay happy enough to keep the sun shining; it was almost May and I wanted mother to have some warmth after a long winter.

When I got to my rooms, I went to change clothes. Although all the sliding dried my dress almost completely, I still wanted a fresh gown.

When I finished, I went into my bedroom. Although when I got there, again I thought I saw someone out of the corner of my eye. I knew it wasn't just my imagination this time, so I whirled around. What I saw made me gasp.

"Hello, dear. It's been a long time." A woman stood there, smiling at me.

She was the most beautiful lady I had ever seen, besides mother of course. But she had silvery blue hair, the same colored eyes, perfect makeup, and a white dress that seemed to flow around her like water. She obviously wasn't a servant.

"I am a Fairy my dear." She said, as if reading my mind. "I was there the night you were born."

My surprise quickly turned to anger, which caused clouds to roll in, blocking out the sun. "You were there…Are you the one who did this?" I asked, waving my hand towards the clouds.

"Oh no, you misunderstand! I am a Water Fairy, and my name is Sylvia. The one who did this to you was a horrid old hag, a witch to be precise." She told me. Reaching out her hand, palm up, and a shimmering image appeared. It was of my parent's bedroom, where I could see my cradle. Standing over it was an old woman with white hair. Her face was plain, but in her red eyes was a malice I had never seen before. It made me shiver.

I couldn't hear what the old woman was saying, but I could tell that they weren't pleasant. As she talked, I saw miniature dark clouds appear above my head. Then I saw every kind of rain, snow, thunder, lightning, everything. Then they subsided, leaving nothing behind. Looking satisfied, the old woman turned to leave.

But before she did, I saw Sylvia appear in front of her. Her face was disapproving. I saw the old woman's shoulders heave, like she was laughing. Then she disappeared altogether.

Floating over to my cradle, Sylvia said a few words, then with a sad expression, also disappeared.

The images vanished, and I blinked a few times, trying to focus again. I had calmed down enough that the clouds disappeared again, but I was surprised no one came up to see what was happening.

"I could not undo the curse, but I did give you a gift. That whenever you are touching water, be it an ocean, lake, river or pond, your emotions would not affect on the weather." She said, her smile returning.

I looked at her, stunned.

"But, why would the old witch curse me? I don't understand." I said, my face turning pale.

"She had wanted a child of her own, but could never have one. I suppose this was her revenge on those that could." She said sympathetically.

I sat down on my bed. "But, why are you telling me this now? It's been so long, and still no one knows what happened." I was getting angry at this Fairy now, for not coming sooner. I was starting to hate every Fairy, except for Mandy of course.

"You were not old enough, dear. I wanted to wait until you were seventeen. I wanted to wait until you could make a decision." She sat down next to me.

"What do you mean? What decision?" I frowned.

"You see, I live in a lake very far from here, under a mountain. On top of that mountain is a very wise creature. If he so chooses to, he can give any gift to anyone, and since it was not a Fairy who cursed you but a witch, he can take it away. I'm saying we could go there and see if he will, and if he does, I will of course return you to your castle. It will be wonderful for you."

I stared out my window. Here was my chance to be normal. But one thing bothered me.

"You said if he chooses. What if he won't take away my curse?" I hated to ask, but I knew I had to.

"Then, I will give you a choice to live with me. I can give you another gift to breathe under water, and there you would never have to worry about your emotions ever again. You could at least be free there."

"Could I visit my family?" I asked.

"Well…I am afraid that if I gave you a gift like that, you would never be able to leave the lake. Or you would die." She said grimly.

**Cliff-hanger! Dun dun dunnnnnn. I shall write soon! Until then, have some cake! *Sets cake out***


	3. Chapter 3

_**Yay, another chapter! Happy New Years everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed break :) Ah, back to the fun world of school. Anyway, this is a long chapter! I wonder if I should have Lela fall in love...? I shall think about it! Anyway, enjoy this chapter guys. Adios!**_

**Chapter Three**

"Die!?" I gasped, my eyes open wide. I stood up, backing away from the Fairy, convinced she was crazy. I heard the crackle of thunder, and I again wondered why no one came to see what was going on.

She gave me a sympathetic look. "Of course you could walk around near the lake, but no more than a mile or so in any direction. If you were to cross that wall, you would… Well…" She trailed off.

"But, why would I die… I mean, you're a fairy! You could make sure that wouldn't happen, right?"

She sighed. "But my dear, to do something like that… To give you perfect freedom to breathe water, and to walk on the surface, _**and **_to go wherever you like, is something I cannot do. To give you all that would be big magic."

I remembered when I was a girl, Mandy would say the same thing if I asked her to do anything more than chores or small household necessities. I soon learned my lesson. But I was no less annoyed by it then Mother was when she was young.

"But, that is the second option, right? I mean, there is a chance he will take my curse away?" I asked her.

She stood up and smiled again, which seemed to brighten the whole room. "There is a great chance he will do as you wish."

Her eyes were so comforting; I couldn't help but believe her. I calmed down enough that the sky became clear again. In fact, I actually started to hope a little. But then something occurred to me. "But, what about the witch? Even if the creature does take it away, won't she just come back and curse me all over again?"

"As long as she doesn't know, she will never come back. And the only way she will know is if I come here without some sort of shielding."

"But, you can go anywhere you like? Could you take us to the mountain by way of Fairy-travel?" I asked, moving closer so that I was face to face with her, even though she stood almost a head taller. Fairy-travel was an archaic way for them to get around, by means of simple teleportation. Simple to them, at least, but it would be useful for us.

"Well, it's not that easy. Why, it's terribly improper to use Fairy-travel with humans! Even humans with Fairy blood. We would have to travel on foot. You should know that dear. Besides, to do so especially with you would reveal my presence to Thelma – The witch – and she would definitely come back here."

I bit my lip, as I always did when I thought hard. I had one more question. "You've told me the witch's name is Thelma. What is the creature's name?"

"Oh, how silly of me… Of course you need a name. Well, this wise creature is called, simply, a Wise One. And his name is Erasmus.

I had never heard of a Wise One before. Of course, I've never met a Fairy before, besides Mandy, and she doesn't tend to tell me every Fairy secret there is.

Then, I remembered, "Why hasn't anyone come up here yet? Someone usually does if the weather changes that fast." I said.

She looked amused. "Because I needed to talk to you in private. But, like I said, I cannot do big magic. And keeping things like this here for too long would be big magic. You can tell your family about me if you would like, but I need an answer by tomorrow afternoon. By then, I will have to return to my home. It's your choice dear." She placed her hand on my cheek in a mother-like fashion, smiling her dazzling smile one more time.

I heard someone knocking at my door, but before I could answer it, I suddenly felt the room spin. When it stopped, I was lying on a couch in my room, looking up at the concerned face of a maidservant.

"What happened?" I asked her, dazed.

"You were on the floor when I came in, ma'am. Should I call for a doctor?" She straightened, turning towards the door.

"No! I, err, I'm fine, thank you. I just haven't eaten much today," I said, which was the truth. As I thought about it, my stomach started to rumble.

The girl's face relaxed. "Oh, of course Princess Lela. That's what I came here for, ma'am. Supper is ready, ma'am."

"Thank you," I said, dismissing her. She bowed and left. After I changed into fresh clothes for supper, I left my room, acting ladylike as I swept down the staircase, as Mother taught me to do.

"You can never have too much practice being a princess, no matter how boring it is," She would always say.

I smiled at the thought as I made my way to the dining hall. And then I smiled even more as what Sylvia said started to completely sink in.

'I could actually remove my curse! I mean, why wouldn't the creature take it away? It wasn't my fault, it was Thelma's.' I thought. Kyrria might finally be free of such weather conditions.

My smile was huge as I skipped happily into the hall where Mother and Father were waiting. They looked up from their conversation. I slid to a stop at my chair, plopped down, and said, "Mother, Father! I have wonderful news!" I couldn't wait to tell them. "Oh, err, hello," I added.

They both seemed confused; it wasn't like me to burst into a room.

"Yes, Lela? What is it, love?" Father asked as Mandy and another servant came in with trays of food. I loved Mandy's cooking, but I was too excited to eat, despite my empty stomach.

"Well, it's a long story," I laughed. They listened patiently as I grew sober and told them everything, from the Fairy Sylvia to the old witch Thelma, to the wise creature Erasmus who could take my curse away. I just didn't tell them about the second option. I didn't think I had anything to worry about then.

"And so, I just need to reach the mountain, and then Sylvia said she would take me back here if he grants me my wish," I finished.

For a minute, neither of them said a word. Then, they looked at each other, and I could tell they were having a silent conversation. I tried to read their expressions, but they hid them too well from me.

Another minute passed, and then they turned to me, their untouched food still sitting in front of them, only to be whisked away a moment later by Mandy, who I assume was listening too.

"No," They both said in unison. "We would go with you just to make sure, but this is a bad time. We are waiting for the Ambassador of Ayortha to arrive, so we can discuss our treaty with them," Mother added.

I stared at them, wide-eyed. Here was my chance to be free, and I probably wouldn't have another. I didn't leave that part out.

"But, why couldn't I go by myself? Sylvia is obviously very powerful, and I would be safe with her!" I protested.

"She _**is**_ powerful, that's our point," Father told me. "We don't know her, and we haven't had very good experiences with those kinds of Fairies. And we cannot have the Princess of Kyrria going on a dangerous mission."

"But Mother, you went on a dangerous mission to undo your curse!" I almost yelled. I didn't mean to argue, but I thought they were being unfair.

"But that was life-threatening, to me, and eventually your father and all of Kyrria. Please dear, if you'll only understand that if we could go we-"

"I will go with her, Lady." I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around.

It was Mandy, coming in through a side entrance. "I will go with her and make sure she's safe. I'm a Fairy too, remember, and I have watched over your mother and grandmother and her grandmother," Mandy said.

Mother and Father looked at each other again. I glanced at Mandy, and she winked at me.

"Well…. Alright, you can go," Mother said, finally. I could tell she wanted to protest more. I'm sure it hurt them just as much seeing their only daughter cursed, but it was still dangerous. But I knew that soon, everything might change. It just _**had **_to.

I jumped up out of my seat, and ran to hug my parents. They both smiled at me, although I could tell it was forced. "Now, eat your food before it gets any colder. It will, apparently, be quite a journey," Mandy told me. I hugged her too, and then obediently finished my food. I had to force it down; I was so excited.

The next day found us outside the castle gates, waiting for the tower bells to signal the afternoon. We were on horses well stocked with food and water that would last us days and money if we ran out on our way back.

The sun shone so brightly that there was hardly a need for anyone to wear warm clothing; my cheeks were bright red, as they always were when I was so happy.

Mother and Father were standing near to see us off.

"Goodbye, my love. Please, just come home safely," Mother said her eyes misty. I slipped down and hugged her. She held onto me for a minute, before finally releasing me. "I have something for you," She told me. She brought out a book. I instantly recognized it, my eyes huge.

"Mandy gave this to me, before I set off to Finishing School. It was an immense help to me," She said, handing me the book.

I placed it in my satchel, and then hugged Father before climbing back onto my horse. His eyes were also misty as he tucked my hair behind my ear, as he always did. "I love you," He said quietly. "Be safe, my daughter."

I smiled at him. "Don't worry father. I'll come back. And when I do, everything will be better. I promise."

I knew they were bold words, but I had a feeling I was right.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves just as I heard bells, signaling the afternoon. "It's time," I whispered.

_**I feel really good about this, I think I will continue it. And thanks to all the followers, and keep reviewing, it helps a lot!**_


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